Indian Education System

Milspec

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Indian Education System

The world is divided on the effectiveness of Indian education, the rhetoric revolves around the amount of engineers and doctors India produces, Extensive Brain Drain India faces, and the effectiveness of the syllabus which in some cases can lack creativity.

The intent of this post is to discuss the strength and weaknesses of the education system, not just in the classrooms and the laboratories, but also in our own household; to come up with ways and methods where we can facilitate the education of our next generations.

Later in this thread, I would love to discuss more complex issues like Attitude, Knowledge, Teachers, innovation and intent/application, but to avoid loss of direction, for the few initial posts, I would like to learn more about the personal opinions from all members across the board to come up with suggestion based on their own experiences, the problems they faced or are facing w.r.t the school or colleges they went to. In retrospect what kind of change would they have liked, which could have prepared them better for life?

To kickstart this discussion,

My personal experience:

When I was in higher secondary school (8,9,10 grades) the entire focus of the syllabus seemed to built around securing good scores on the 10th (SSC)grade examination. And to achieve that goal, I was sent to tuition classes for additional help in Sanskrit, hindi, Marathi. There were others who almost opted for tuitions which dealt with almost every subject. Neither the school nor the tuitions helped in creating “discussion” about the content but was focused on the memorization of textual answers for textual questions. The intent of the syllabus in adding the question after each chapter was to create the thought process to arrive at right answer, but the way the system worked was to mark a few lines in the text and present it as the answers completely defeating the purpose of the exercise, the same weakness of the process was reflected in examinations subsequently with students reproducing the expected answers and deviation from the standard answers resulting in a penalty, and hence ensuring the curb on creativity.

History, especially world history is fascinating to me till this day, the entire experience was killed by the school by making the entire process a date and event memorizing exercise rather than discussing the chain of events, alternate scenarios to great historical events. It often felt that documentaries and TV shows had much better insight in learning rather than what was being dispersed in the classroom.

other than that we did have a really good sports program at my school (Cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, and track) that's something we enjoyed, National Cadet Corp was great, and then we had a science club: where the members were given a book series on famous scientists. I remember that having a profound impact on me during the secondary school years.

I have mixed emotions about the engineering syllabus that I went through, there were quite a few inherent measures taken towards good constructive intent which got translated into poor execution. E.g. In the first year of engineering, students are taught introductory subjects on mechanical, electrical, electronics, civil, computer engg and chemical, but rather than trying to educate about the broader scope and building the imagination for the application on a grand scale of what the professional future might hold in each of these group, the syllabus was again aimed at non-value added basic problem solving and the same age old textual answers, proofs, derivations, all exemplifying lack of imagination or creativity.

I can’t speak for all, but in the second and third year of engineering, we were bombarded by information (at least what it seemed like it back then) with some useless redundant activities. Machine design, theory of machine, strength of material, metallurgy, welding and foundry, technology of production systems had some brilliant sections, some of them I have thoroughly enjoyed even if they were associated with similar grading scales, and the expectation from the examiner was to recreate answers according to the book. But still, the information in these subjects was strong enough to have a thorough understanding of the subject matter and still have the time and inclination to learn the expected curriculum’s protocol for the examinations

What transformed my engineering education was my final year project, where all of the bombarded information throughout the previous two years came together in unison to make sense in all the madness. My project was to design a special-purpose machine, where the same professors who taught design and analysis day and night provided their valuable insights to guide us in designing, the spindle > selection of the motor> design of the column> design of the frame> rack and pinion> design bed of machine> finite element analysis> drafting of production sheets> assembly modeling> bill of material>Fabrication >welding and inspection> grinding and finishing> installation> testing and finally drafting the installation and operation manual. The entire experience for a group of novice students was incredibly rewarding.

The learning process in the six months of the project gave us a richer experience than everything else that amounted to that point in my life.

My experience was enhanced by my final year project, but not everyone is that lucky to get a kick a$$ project in their final year. It is obvious that education will not prepare to be effective on the first day of work, every profession comes with a different set of expertise which we gain through years of experience, but the important thing I believe is to create the ability to understand new concepts, make every student familiarized with relevant technologies, and providing as many tools as you can for learning.

During my Master’s program in the US, things began to change and changed quite drastically. No longer was there a standard syllabus, there wasn’t any order in which I was to take classes (except for the ones with pre-requisites) Grades were no longer an issue, as you could easily pick classes to get easy A’s if you wanted to. The only focus now was to get good at subjects that interested you. There were open book exams, cheat sheets, take-home exams, and makeup projects, things I had never imagined could/would have existed. Now the focus was to become the best within your own ability, the exams/projects/directed studies were no longer to reproduce answers per the book but to impress the professor by how much you understood of the subject. Around this time I was also working as a Teaching Assistant for the department of Mechanical Engg, i.e I taught the Labs for CAD and CAM 500 level courses and supervised machine shop classes for various undergrads and grad courses, helped professor grade papers for various subjects. One thing that stood out for me for the American education system was the weakness in mathematics across the board, undergrad and grad students alike struggling with calculus which was in stark contrast with Chinese/Indian/Iranian students who did not seem to any issues with Calculus. That took me back to how the Indian education system, for all its ills, made us solve thousands upon thousands of problems from multiple question banks that would circulate in the local book stores near the colleges to get good at calculus in JC and Engineering. Practice was something missing in American education system, while it was second nature for the intl students in the university.

That sums up my take. Share your thoughts on how your experience was in the Indian Education system, how it shaped you, what did you feel was lacking.


@Ashwin @nair @Gautam @_Anonymous_ @suryakiran @Parthu @Falcon @Sathya @randomradio
 
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I thank Indian education system of schools for my strong maths. It helped me a lot while pursuing my bachelors and then masters. Well of course the universities in India still need to catch up because there the marking scheme is really outdated. The ideas and innovation have no value. It's all about getting a job even if its not related to your field.

Secondly, I would like Indian university to allow most of the students to join the course irrespective of the marks obtained in 12th and introduce a stricter marking scheme to produce quality people.

Because if out of 1000 even if they are producing 100 every year, they will be equivalent to civil servants , that's sufficient because these 100 will be India's top notch, they don't have to sit for any competitive exam and rather focus on technocratic work in some company or start their own firm. Remove the attendance in lectures and only implement it for tutorials and lab work. More emphasis should be given to self study than spoon feeding. Sitting in a library for hours and learning even 40% will help better and will stay longer in head than going to coaching and getting all the solutions. Some what like IGNOU.

For those who don't wish to study further should have apprenticeships offered by companies after 12th the eligibility and placements should be done as per marks and whatever conditions the companies want.

ITI is something similar but it doesn't produce skilled people. Apprenticeship is closer to white collar.

Lastly, all those who wish to study further after apprenticeship , can continue full time degree or online in the same firm affiliated with some university.

For example, Air Traffic controller or a Train driver. Rather doing the placement after their Graduation, they should be taken early exactly after 12th based on entrance and other criteria. Why waste 3 years in graduation? If they are 16, they can be trained for next 2-3 years for ATC control or railways, and by the time they complete their final training they will be handling the airspace or the rail network. By this you will reduce the congestion. And by the time they are 30-35 they will top class controllers in both air and rail network with 15 years of experience.

PS: Make me the Education minister I can implement all that. I have the scheme ready, I just gave a small example.
 
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When I was in higher secondary school (8,9,10 grades) the entire focus of the syllabus seemed to built around securing good scores on the 10th (SSC)grade examination. And to achieve that goal, I was sent to tuition classes for additional help in Sanskrit, hindi, Marathi. There were others who almost opted for tuitions which dealt with almost every subject. Neither the school nor the tuitions helped in creating “discussion” about the content but was focused on the memorization of textual answers for textual questions. The intent of the syllabus in adding the question after each chapter was to create the thought process to arrive at right answer, but the way the system worked was to mark a few lines in the text and present it as the answers completely defeating the purpose of the exercise, the same weakness of the process was reflected in examinations subsequently with students reproducing the expected answers and deviation from the standard answers resulting in a penalty, and hence ensuring the curb on creativity.

History, especially world history is fascinating to me till this day, the entire experience was killed by the school by making the entire process a date and event memorizing exercise rather than discussing the chain of events, alternate scenarios to great historical events. It often felt that documentaries and TV shows had much better insight in learning rather than what was being dispersed in the classroom.

other than that we did have a really good sports program at my school (Cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, and track) that's something we enjoyed, National Cadet Corp was great, and then we had a science club: where the members were given a book series on famous scientists. I remember that having a profound impact on me during the secondary school years.
The quality and quantity of education varies greatly depending on where you were schooled. Where were you schooled ? Which colleges did you attend ? What languages do you know ?

For me my schooling experience is very similar to yours. I studied in the same school throughout my entire Class 1-12 journey. Made some friends there, obviously. Thus moving on from 12 to college was difficult, almost went to depression there. In college I joined NCC, went a lot of camps : BLC, ATC, AAC etc. but never appeared for any exams. So I don't have any certificates. Now I am doing my Masters.

In school I learned Bengali, Hindi, English and a bit of Sanskrit. I never read Kokborok but I do have rudimentary conversational knowledge of the language. Learned a bit of Odia during my 3 month stay in Bhubaneshwar(training). I don't remember much of it now, the only thing I remember is "Balunga". I don't know what that means, but I know its not a nice thing to say to someone.

I always liked maths, especially word problems but I hate calculus especially integration. I like Chemistry too but I grew afraid of organic chemistry. It seemed the teaching styles had a great impact on whether I liked a subject or not. Always hated biology, knew early on that this Xylem/Phloem sh*t ain't for me.

My school had all the facilities that you could ask for. Some were less used than the rest, for example the library. The library was one of those places that you want to go to but can never do so. Our system of education doesn't put much emphasis on creativity, its always syllabus oriented. If the syllabus isn't up to date you are in trouble in the real world.

I don't have much complain on my school really.
I have mixed emotions about the engineering syllabus that I went through, there were quite a few inherent measures taken towards good constructive intent which got translated into poor execution. E.g. In the first year of engineering, students are taught introductory subjects on mechanical, electrical, electronics, civil, computer engg and chemical, but rather than trying to educate about the broader scope and building the imagination for the application on a grand scale of what the professional future might hold in each of these group, the syllabus was again aimed at non-value added basic problem solving and the same age old textual answers, proofs, derivations, all exemplifying lack of imagination or creativity.
True, the engineering folks are not tasked with things that would require them to think or solve problems using their knowledge for the first 3 years. Its only when you are handed with a project that you start using your brain. The engineering studies in India is a lot academics based rather than applications based. If it were me I would give everybody projects from 1st year on or at least use it as the most important marks scoring opportunity every year.

We need problem solvers now book crammers.
I can’t speak for all, but in the second and third year of engineering, we were bombarded by information (at least what it seemed like it back then) with some useless redundant activities. Machine design, theory of machine, strength of material, metallurgy, welding and foundry, technology of production systems had some brilliant sections, some of them I have thoroughly enjoyed even if they were associated with similar grading scales, and the expectation from the examiner was to recreate answers according to the book. But still, the information in these subjects was strong enough to have a thorough understanding of the subject matter and still have the time and inclination to learn the expected curriculum’s protocol for the examinations
Machine design, Kinematics of machine, Dynamics of Machine et al can go fu*k themselves. Absolutely hate those subjects.
Don't you say anything bad about metallurgy. Metallurgy is the greatest thing I've ever come across. Which is why I am doing my Masters in Material Sciences.
Ok since you brought this up let's play a game. The photographs below are from my experiments in January this year. Can anybody guess what any of these things are ?
IMG-20200318-WA0000.jpg

1587580778108.png

1587581078149.png

Sample 1 a01.jpg

What transformed my engineering education was my final year project, where all of the bombarded information throughout the previous two years came together in unison to make sense in all the madness. My project was to design a special-purpose machine, where the same professors who taught design and analysis day and night provided their valuable insights to guide us in designing, the spindle > selection of the motor> design of the column> design of the frame> rack and pinion> design bed of machine> finite element analysis> drafting of production sheets> assembly modeling> bill of material>Fabrication >welding and inspection> grinding and finishing> installation> testing and finally drafting the installation and operation manual. The entire experience for a group of novice students was incredibly rewarding.
Special purpose machine with a spindle, motor an rack and pinion set up ? Sounds like a special purpose lathe machine. How big was it ? Do you have any photo/videos with you ? I might make one for myself. How much did it cost you ?
The learning process in the six months of the project gave us a richer experience than everything else that amounted to that point in my life.

My experience was enhanced by my final year project, but not everyone is that lucky to get a kick a$$ project in their final year. It is obvious that education will not prepare to be effective on the first day of work, every profession comes with a different set of expertise which we gain through years of experience, but the important thing I believe is to create the ability to understand new concepts, make every student familiarized with relevant technologies, and providing as many tools as you can for learning.
True that. Nothing beats hands on experience.

Well since you wrote about your B. Tech project let me tell you about mine. We were asked to find ways to automate everything regarding a metal casting process. Everything from mould preparation to ejecting the product from a mould after casting. Obviously this is a big project and thus a few small 3 man teams were made and every team was handed a specific part of that work.

Our work was to automate the preparation of uniform fine quality sand which would be used to make the mould(We were doing sand casting). The machine we were to make was to automatically sieve sand gathered from a river bank(Gomati river) and bring the sand with in a particular size.

This is the machine we made :
1587579641909.png

A simple thing really. the sieve is pushed an pulled using a crankshaft powered by a electric motor. The sieve is supported on three small castor wheels on each side of the frame. It was a lot of fun.

During my Master’s program in the US, things began to change and changed quite drastically. No longer was there a standard syllabus, there wasn’t any order in which I was to take classes (except for the ones with pre-requisites) Grades were no longer an issue, as you could easily pick classes to get easy A’s if you wanted to. The only focus now was to get good at subjects that interested you. There were open book exams, cheat sheets, take-home exams, and makeup projects, things I had never imagined could/would have existed. Now the focus was to become the best within your own ability, the exams/projects/directed studies were no longer to reproduce answers per the book but to impress the professor by how much you understood of the subject. Around this time I was also working as a Teaching Assistant for the department of Mechanical Engg, i.e I taught the Labs for CAD and CAM 500 level courses and supervised machine shop classes for various undergrads and grad courses, helped professor grade papers for various subjects. One thing that stood out for me for the American education system was the weakness in mathematics across the board, undergrad and grad students alike struggling with calculus which was in stark contrast with Chinese/Indian/Iranian students who did not seem to any issues with Calculus. That took me back to how the Indian education system, for all its ills, made us solve thousands upon thousands of problems from multiple question banks that would circulate in the local book stores near the colleges to get good at calculus in JC and Engineering. Practice was something missing in American education system, while it was second nature for the intl students in the university.
I hear a lot about how bad the Americans are in maths, geography etc. etc.
Yet they are far more successful than us collectively.

BTW What made you pursue a masters in the US ? What was your branch of studies for Masters ?
 
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I read in a matric school.. BTW 3-8 std.
I don't even remember what i did.
I can surely say I was not myself.. Just trying to put into memories by repeating it.
Threatened with punishment, schooling btw 3-8 was quite a waste I feel.

Then I shifted to best in the district School..
Turning point of my life I should say.

Suddenly what teacher spoke, made sense to me..
Still history and languages I repeating what I did before..

But Maths and science, I started enjoying.. I even used to dream in physics..

My knowledge about subjects improved..

Higher secondary 11, 12 th, again enjoyed but bit stress full.. Went to tuition to learn earlier..
Had n number s of test in tuition and school.. It was more of excercise..

Anyone who diligently worked hard would get through exams..

But then twist came in board exams..
I made a silly mistake in 10 marks problem.. In maths.
My dream of being engineer got a jolt.

Coupled with good exams in biology and entrance exams..
And got MBBS seat . .

And the lure of being independent in life , without needing for any team work..
I selected medical profession.

Never I knew about IIT exams, UPSC exams..
For me everything is BE or MBBS.

Even though I liked engineering, I don't even know which branch I liked.
Basically I loved physics. That's it.

Also whenever I read about Missile test in newspaper s I used to read many time s over.. And get goose bumps..

That's my schooling..

Medical college, I was aloof..
Being drilled to perfection in school..
Left alone in govt college.. I was aloof.

Subjects are like ocean, and I prefer to read from page 1 .. Never materialized well...

Then I had chicken pox in first year MBBS study holidays , I didn't read 1 subject.. Got break for 6 months..

That's when internet became available..
My interest in defense started to grow from there..
Bombarded with access to defence articles.. I spent reading those half the time...

First nice article I read is about LCA in 2001..

Somehow interest in defense and those whichever is exemplary made in India.. Kindled me to adopt my ambition in life..

Looking at the difficulties in going through the government offices to get anything done..
Laws that framed to extract from people..

Then competition in field.. unethical cultures in profession...

Basic survival itself become my aim.

I guess around 40 years I ll be able to settle down..

Whatever I missed out.. I could only pass it on to my kids..

Whether to send kids abroad or make em to better India is always in my mind.


That aside internet has brought all the material s available to students to pusue their interest and know what they like...

They will be in better position to know what s their interest.. And where they ll have to pursue....

If good school and college is provided they ll enjoy their learning knowledge and skills..

Average school s and college - everything is left to the interest of student. No strong motivation then it ll be again waste of course.
 
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Machine design, Kinematics of machine, Dynamics of Machine et al can go fu*k themselves.
Absolutely hate those subjects.
Don't you say anything bad about metallurgy. Metallurgy is the greatest thing I've ever come across. Which is why I am doing my Masters in Material Sciences.
I think SOM, TOM, And ATD were my highest scoring subjects in 2nd yr. I really enjoyed SOM, because after SOM we never had any other structural class related to civil.
I forget out of which KMM or DMM we got to design our own gearbox, that came in handy later. MD was a bit boring, and has very little to do actually with design but more of how to draft and all the signs and symbols for the world. My undergrad was in Production Engg, and not pure Mech, so did not get TOMII, ATDII, HVAC, MDII, which I hear were mediocre in our syllabus.
metallurgy, i think we had two classes, I liked the subject because of the professor, he was an absolute rockstar and really helped us.

Also good choice in material sciences, so we have an alchemist in our midst.

Ok since you brought this up let's play a game. The photographs below are from my experiments in January this year. Can anybody guess what any of these things are ?
View attachment 15541
View attachment 15542
View attachment 15543
View attachment 15544
Have zero idea, some kind of grain boundary for polycrystalline structure.

Special purpose machine with a spindle, motor an rack and pinion set up ? Sounds like a special purpose lathe machine. How big was it ? Do you have any photo/videos with you ? I might make one for myself. How much did it cost you ?
This was a SP tapping machine for tapping already drilled holes on crankcases of large Diesel engines build by KOEL/Pielstick. The crank case had specifield holes that needed to be drilled and then tapped. Given the size of crank case, the idea was to build a SPM that would tap the holes on the horizontal sides when the vertical face was being drilled and thus lowering cycletime.

BTW What made you pursue a masters in the US ? What was your branch of studies for Masters ?

After working for a couple of years, it was clear that the competition was too much in company, and I was not going to be promoted until someone died or retired. I had a few friends who recommended getting a master from the US would improve chances to gain employment that would either set my career in a better trajectory or adequate exposure to maybe start something of my own. in addition there was always the attraction of Southern Cali lifestyle, bigger displacement motorcycles and cars, chicks, new places to explore, and general Americana. So that was it.
(M.S Mechanical)
 
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Harvard Hyderabad and Oxford Kolkata ? The future of US higher education could be in India

Bloomberg
Last Updated: Aug 13, 2020, 08:30 AM IST
By Tyler Cowen

Synopsis
India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.



1597380758244.png

Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. Photo: Amity University Kolkata


With much of U.S. higher education online only this semester, and its more long-term future deeply uncertain, now is a time to dream big. My own fantasy is based on the Indian government’s recent plan to encourage the top 100 universities in the world to operate in India. Consider how the next 30 years might look if India were to allow the creation of a “Princeton Mumbai,” a “Harvard Hyderabad” or an “Oxford Kolkata.”

At first, most top U.S. universities would be reluctant to proceed boldly. Branch campuses abroad exist, such as the Yale-NUS College in Singapore, but they are usually smaller and less important relative to the home university. Top universities jealousy guard their positions as exclusive institutions, and it would not be easy for Harvard (even pre-Covid-19) to hire faculty of comparable quality in India in most areas of academic study.

Still, some schools in the top 100 would start operations in India. Even if Harvard hesitated, schools such as University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology or perhaps one of the nearby Singaporean schools would not.

In my fantasy, the schools that are open to expanding their India operations will rise considerably in reputation. India, and South Asia more generally, is in the midst of a phenomenal explosion of talent in diverse fields. Sundar Pichai runs Alphabet and Google, and Satya Nadella runs Microsoft. Abhijit Banerjee recently won a Nobel Prize in economics. Vishy Anand is one of the world’s top chess players. Indian writers are famous around the world. And so on.

The universities that open significant branches in India thus would become among the very best in the world — not the top 100, but the top 50. India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.

You might wonder whether India actually needs all of these foreign branches, when it has some superb schools of its own, for instance the various Indian Institutes of Technology. In my fantasy, some Indian institutions of higher education will improve and force some competitors — shall we say UC Berkeley ? — to leave the country. Yet many talented Indians will find attending a branch of Harvard or Yale to be an appealing option. Furthermore, the top foreign schools may form alliances with Indian institutions (as Yale has done in Singapore), giving students the best of both worlds.

This future gets better yet. Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. It might also become obvious that the students attending in the U.S. are underperforming their Indian counterparts. What better way to light a competitive fire under the current dominant institutions ?

And maybe some of the keenest and most ambitious American students will prefer to study in India rather than in America. (Perhaps a “canceled” American student could be sent to Brown Uttar Pradesh ?) Wouldn’t you want to study with the very best of your peers, knowing you might be sitting next to the next generation’s Einstein, von Neumann or, of course Ramanujan ?

Best of all, America’s top schools would learn they could open their doors to many more students, while boosting the reach and prestige of their institutions overall. The success of Princeton Mumbai would lead to a much larger Princeton in New Jersey. After all, if they can admit more qualified students from Kerala, doesn’t it follow that they can also accept more high-achieving kids from suburban Maryland ? Or even, say, Detroit ?

As I said, this is all a fantasy. Indian bureaucracy can be frustrating, Indian politics can be forbidding, and many talented faculty still seek to leave India rather than to move there, among other problems. Still, especially considering the implications of a rising India, this future no longer sounds crazy. An Indian expansion could be the best thing to happen to American and British higher education in this century.

Next stop: MIT Lagos !

 
Harvard Hyderabad and Oxford Kolkata ? The future of US higher education could be in India

Bloomberg
Last Updated: Aug 13, 2020, 08:30 AM IST
By Tyler Cowen


Synopsis


India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.



View attachment 17164
Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. Photo: Amity University Kolkata


With much of U.S. higher education online only this semester, and its more long-term future deeply uncertain, now is a time to dream big. My own fantasy is based on the Indian government’s recent plan to encourage the top 100 universities in the world to operate in India. Consider how the next 30 years might look if India were to allow the creation of a “Princeton Mumbai,” a “Harvard Hyderabad” or an “Oxford Kolkata.”

At first, most top U.S. universities would be reluctant to proceed boldly. Branch campuses abroad exist, such as the Yale-NUS College in Singapore, but they are usually smaller and less important relative to the home university. Top universities jealousy guard their positions as exclusive institutions, and it would not be easy for Harvard (even pre-Covid-19) to hire faculty of comparable quality in India in most areas of academic study.

Still, some schools in the top 100 would start operations in India. Even if Harvard hesitated, schools such as University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology or perhaps one of the nearby Singaporean schools would not.

In my fantasy, the schools that are open to expanding their India operations will rise considerably in reputation. India, and South Asia more generally, is in the midst of a phenomenal explosion of talent in diverse fields. Sundar Pichai runs Alphabet and Google, and Satya Nadella runs Microsoft. Abhijit Banerjee recently won a Nobel Prize in economics. Vishy Anand is one of the world’s top chess players. Indian writers are famous around the world. And so on.

The universities that open significant branches in India thus would become among the very best in the world — not the top 100, but the top 50. India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.

You might wonder whether India actually needs all of these foreign branches, when it has some superb schools of its own, for instance the various Indian Institutes of Technology. In my fantasy, some Indian institutions of higher education will improve and force some competitors — shall we say UC Berkeley ? — to leave the country. Yet many talented Indians will find attending a branch of Harvard or Yale to be an appealing option. Furthermore, the top foreign schools may form alliances with Indian institutions (as Yale has done in Singapore), giving students the best of both worlds.

This future gets better yet. Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. It might also become obvious that the students attending in the U.S. are underperforming their Indian counterparts. What better way to light a competitive fire under the current dominant institutions ?

And maybe some of the keenest and most ambitious American students will prefer to study in India rather than in America. (Perhaps a “canceled” American student could be sent to Brown Uttar Pradesh ?) Wouldn’t you want to study with the very best of your peers, knowing you might be sitting next to the next generation’s Einstein, von Neumann or, of course Ramanujan ?

Best of all, America’s top schools would learn they could open their doors to many more students, while boosting the reach and prestige of their institutions overall. The success of Princeton Mumbai would lead to a much larger Princeton in New Jersey. After all, if they can admit more qualified students from Kerala, doesn’t it follow that they can also accept more high-achieving kids from suburban Maryland ? Or even, say, Detroit ?

As I said, this is all a fantasy. Indian bureaucracy can be frustrating, Indian politics can be forbidding, and many talented faculty still seek to leave India rather than to move there, among other problems. Still, especially considering the implications of a rising India, this future no longer sounds crazy. An Indian expansion could be the best thing to happen to American and British higher education in this century.

Next stop: MIT Lagos !

Just to serve global capital & privatisation of education & draining resources from public institutions....Modi won't strengthen public institutions & won't take on pvt education mafia in this country which has destroyed future of millions of indians. Well , following vested interest are more important than that of your countryman.
 

Excellent Decision by TN govt

Children should NOT be burdened by 3 languages

2 are enough out of which One Must be English
For your kind information, Tamil students who join the workforce today are practically unemployable outside of the IT sector in India due to their proficiency with English & Tamil given the 2 language formula. Conversely anybody who wants to get a job in TN better be proficient in English & pick up Tamil ASAP.
 
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Harvard Hyderabad and Oxford Kolkata ? The future of US higher education could be in India

Bloomberg
Last Updated: Aug 13, 2020, 08:30 AM IST
By Tyler Cowen


Synopsis


India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.



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Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. Photo: Amity University Kolkata


With much of U.S. higher education online only this semester, and its more long-term future deeply uncertain, now is a time to dream big. My own fantasy is based on the Indian government’s recent plan to encourage the top 100 universities in the world to operate in India. Consider how the next 30 years might look if India were to allow the creation of a “Princeton Mumbai,” a “Harvard Hyderabad” or an “Oxford Kolkata.”

At first, most top U.S. universities would be reluctant to proceed boldly. Branch campuses abroad exist, such as the Yale-NUS College in Singapore, but they are usually smaller and less important relative to the home university. Top universities jealousy guard their positions as exclusive institutions, and it would not be easy for Harvard (even pre-Covid-19) to hire faculty of comparable quality in India in most areas of academic study.

Still, some schools in the top 100 would start operations in India. Even if Harvard hesitated, schools such as University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology or perhaps one of the nearby Singaporean schools would not.

In my fantasy, the schools that are open to expanding their India operations will rise considerably in reputation. India, and South Asia more generally, is in the midst of a phenomenal explosion of talent in diverse fields. Sundar Pichai runs Alphabet and Google, and Satya Nadella runs Microsoft. Abhijit Banerjee recently won a Nobel Prize in economics. Vishy Anand is one of the world’s top chess players. Indian writers are famous around the world. And so on.

The universities that open significant branches in India thus would become among the very best in the world — not the top 100, but the top 50. India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.

You might wonder whether India actually needs all of these foreign branches, when it has some superb schools of its own, for instance the various Indian Institutes of Technology. In my fantasy, some Indian institutions of higher education will improve and force some competitors — shall we say UC Berkeley ? — to leave the country. Yet many talented Indians will find attending a branch of Harvard or Yale to be an appealing option. Furthermore, the top foreign schools may form alliances with Indian institutions (as Yale has done in Singapore), giving students the best of both worlds.

This future gets better yet. Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. America’s top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. It might also become obvious that the students attending in the U.S. are underperforming their Indian counterparts. What better way to light a competitive fire under the current dominant institutions ?

And maybe some of the keenest and most ambitious American students will prefer to study in India rather than in America. (Perhaps a “canceled” American student could be sent to Brown Uttar Pradesh ?) Wouldn’t you want to study with the very best of your peers, knowing you might be sitting next to the next generation’s Einstein, von Neumann or, of course Ramanujan ?

Best of all, America’s top schools would learn they could open their doors to many more students, while boosting the reach and prestige of their institutions overall. The success of Princeton Mumbai would lead to a much larger Princeton in New Jersey. After all, if they can admit more qualified students from Kerala, doesn’t it follow that they can also accept more high-achieving kids from suburban Maryland ? Or even, say, Detroit ?

As I said, this is all a fantasy. Indian bureaucracy can be frustrating, Indian politics can be forbidding, and many talented faculty still seek to leave India rather than to move there, among other problems. Still, especially considering the implications of a rising India, this future no longer sounds crazy. An Indian expansion could be the best thing to happen to American and British higher education in this century.

Next stop: MIT Lagos !

Focus on the 2nd & 3rd Tier universities & the others would follow. Given the steep fees & the increasing tendency of the US to clampdown on US student visas, we're awaiting the imminent arrival of the first among these foreign varsities to buck the trend & some body would definitely bite the bullet .

Only suggestion would be to ask the GoI to rope in our industrial houses to tie up with such varsities & to keep out humanities focussing only on STEM. Your thoughts @Nilgiri ; @Milspec
 
For your kind information, Tamil students who join the workforce today are practically unemployable outside of the IT sector in India due to their proficiency with English & Tamil given the 2 language formula. Conversely anybody who wants to get a job in TN better be proficient in English & pick up Tamil ASAP.

If a person wants to learn Hindi , he can easily do so

But putting 3 languages in an official school curriculum is burdening the children

Languages should be learnt out of interest not compulsion

My neighbour's daughter was curious about Chinese ,So she started learning it slowly just out of curiousity over 3 years

Now it is helping her in her career
 
Just to serve global capital & privatisation of education & draining resources from public institutions....Modi won't strengthen public institutions & won't take on pvt education mafia in this country which has destroyed future of millions of indians. Well , following vested interest are more important than that of your countryman.
All that is private is evil and all that is public is good.o_O

Strange mindset you have. And it is surprisingly inflexible too.
 
All that is private is evil and all that is public is good.o_O

Strange mindset you have. And it is surprisingly inflexible too.
How can something for profit for selected few over something for public at large be good for everyone ? Maybe.... 3 dollar avg wage earner in this country can now get his son or daughter into a 4 million INR harverd course in India instead of US :) maybe he can also take a loan from Yes bank if he can not afford the amount. the child may never be able to pay back the amount with interest & his parents would probably have to sell everything like many parents do in this country after there children's taking education from these substandard pvt institutions run by politicians & there cronies....but it's all for the good of the realm. mera bharat mahan.